US-Cuba rights talks 'preliminary' in nature

A round of US-Cuban talks devoted to human rights will be “preliminary” in nature and used to set a format for future discussions on the issue, the State Department said Friday. The encounter, to be held in Washington next Tuesday, would be the latest in a series aimed at normalizing ties between the two Cold War-era adversaries. The US delegation will be led by Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, a State Department official said. The meeting is “to discuss the methodology and structure of future human rights talks,” the official said.